SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Kyle Kirkwood has stood on the Indianapolis 500 starting grid on race day for several years, taking in the pageantry, the massive crowds, the well-orchestrated pomp and circumstance for one of the most celebrated sporting events in the world.
This Sunday will be different, however. The 23-year old Jupiter resident will instead be climbing into the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet and taking Indy’s famed green flag for the first time in his career, racing against some of the best open-wheel drivers in the world.
“I’ve stood on the grid a couple times for driver introductions and watching prerace ceremonies,’’ Kirkwood said. “And I know it’s going to be even more special as a driver going to the driver intros and prerace ceremonies — it’s one of the most special things in this world, and that’s what got me hooked on the Indy 500.”
SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Kyle Kirkwood has stood on the Indianapolis 500 starting grid on race day for several years, taking in the pageantry, the massive crowds, the well-orchestrated pomp and circumstance for one of the most celebrated sporting events in the world.
This Sunday will be different, however. The 23-year old Jupiter resident will instead be climbing into the No. 14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Chevrolet and taking Indy’s famed green flag for the first time in his career, racing against some of the best open-wheel drivers in the world.
“I’ve stood on the grid a couple times for driver introductions and watching prerace ceremonies,’’ Kirkwood said. “And I know it’s going to be even more special as a driver going to the driver intros and prerace ceremonies — it’s one of the most special things in this world, and that’s what got me hooked on the Indy 500.”
The “Foyt effect” at Indianapolis has been everything Kirkwood hoped it would be.
“I watched some IndyCar races at the age of 5 and 6, so I never got to fully realize how legendary that number (14) is and how legendary A.J. Foyt is,’’ Kirkwood said.
“Around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, A.J. perks up, and all the fans come out. He’s got way more fans than anyone else in this paddock and they’ve all been coming here just to see him 30 years after he raced.
“If I can say I’ve got fans 30 years after I’ve driven a car, that would be absolutely insane to me. So it’s been cool to be around and I now realize how legendary it is to drive the No. 14 for A.J. Foyt.”
Kirkwood will be starting his first Indy 500 Sunday from the 28th position — inside the 10th row. He was 19th in Friday’s “Carb Day” final practice. And he has a pair of fourth-place finishes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s infield road course en route to winning the 2021 Indy Lights championship. He is the only driver to win championships in all three series of the Road to Indy open-wheel ladder system.
His first time on the “big track” as it’s called has been a learning experience. Only seven drivers in the 33-car field have completed more laps than Kirkwood (388) in the combined practice sessions over the past two weeks.
And the promising rookie readily concedes so much of this first Indy experience has been a great, high-speed learning experience. After all, the 2.5-mile track is regarded as one of the most challenging facilities in the world. He is starting toward the rear of the field, but he’s surrounded by Indy greatness in four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves, who starts just ahead of Kirkwood and in front of two-time Indy champion Juan Pablo Montoya, who starts just behind Kirkwood.
In his only other NTT IndyCar Series oval-track start this season, at Texas Motor Speedway, Kirkwood started 25th but was running among the top 10 within the opening 25 laps. He was ultimately taken out by another driver’s mistake.
Kirkwood said he’s had a very measured approach to his debut in the biggest race in the world — other teams are better financed and are fielding veteran drivers. But Kirkwood knows this opportunity is the first chapter of what he hopes to be a long, storied career.
“It’s definitely not the easiest, but it’s actually a lot of fun being in something I know I can progress,’’ he said, smiling. “And the reason it’s something fun is because the whole team has kind of rallied around me.
“It’s not like I’m going into a big team and you have Graham [Rahal] or Colton [Herta] or [six-time series champion ] Scott Dixon. I’m going into a team and it’s like ‘you’re the guy’ and it is my rookie season.
“Most people would look at it like this is a ton of pressure. I’m actually really enjoying it. I think it’s a ton of fun. I’ve always felt like I work well with a team and kind of getting everyone up to speed. It’s not anything new to me, in that sense.
“It’s more important to have a team rally around you than it is to have massive resources,’’ Kirkwood added. “If you get people to work in unison and everyone is happy, you’ll see bigger teams with all the resources but heads are bumping.
“So I do the best I can to rally everyone together. And if no good comes from it, we at least have a very fun time doing it.’’
“There’s always things you can do better, and I’m always striving for more. At the same time, if I look back at where I came from and everything that’s transpired. This is really special.”
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